


Life's a Little Less Lonely (When I'm With You)

by SassyCC



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Dinner, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:27:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25808113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassyCC/pseuds/SassyCC
Summary: My take on Duck and Minerva's first date :)
Relationships: Minerva/Duck Newton
Comments: 8
Kudos: 35





	Life's a Little Less Lonely (When I'm With You)

**Author's Note:**

> I've never posted on AO3 before, so I don't know how to do this! But I hope you guys like this short ficlet I wrote. I couldn't stop thinking about their first date, so yeah, here you go :D

Duck wasn’t sure what he was doing or what compelled him to pick up the phone and dial Amnesty Lodge at 6:41 p.m. on a Tuesday night. Life had been, well, different since saving the planets. His company had certainly changed. Though they didn’t live together for very long, Duck found himself missing Aubrey’s eccentric rooming habits, and of course, though he would never admit it, he felt something akin to missing Beacon’s quips and insults. So when he heard a familiar proud voice answer the phone, he couldn’t help but grin.

“I must say, this is a pleasant surprise Wayne Newton!”

Duck chuckled. “Yeah, hey, Minnie,” he greeted almost fondly. “I know it’s, uh, a little late, but I was just…” he trailed off.

“You were just?” Minerva prompted.

Duck paused because… what was he? He truly was… just. But Minerva was never one to leave a question unanswered. “Lonely,” Duck offered, and the word felt right.

There was silence on the other end as Minerva thought through her words. “Yes, I have been feeling that way myself, as of late.”

There was a beat where the two of them simply sat together, enjoying the quiet crackle of the phone line, and even in the quiet, Duck was sure the night felt less lonely. So Duck spoke up.

“Do you wanna get dinner?”

“Dinner?”

“Yeah, you know, I could pick you up around 7, or… I guess, I don’t have a car, but we can get a taxi. Or, you know what, never mind, forget about it-“

“Dinner sounds nice, Duck.”

Duck smiled slightly at the familiar name, one he rarely heard in her voice now. 

“Great, yeah, that’s uh, good.”

“I will see you later, Duck Newton,” Minerva says, and Duck could hear her grin through the phone before the line went dead. And in the would-be suffocating silence that enveloped Duck, he was sure; the night was not so lonely anymore.

***

The unlikely pair ended up walking. Minerva argued it would do them both some good, given they were no longer training for the end of the world, and Duck was, justifiably, rather averse to riding the funicular. Their walk was quiet, comfortably on Minerva’s end, but frantically on Duck’s as he racked his brain for things to say. Unfortunately for everyone’s favorite forest ranger, his creativity evaded him, and they stayed silent until they reached their destination.

As they approached Kepler’s famous Wolf Ember Grill & Lodge, Duck snapped out of his self-deprecating reverie and rushed forward, nearly stumbling over himself to open the door for Minerva, thanking, well, Minerva, for his quick reflexes.

Beneath her ethereal blue markings, Minerva’s cheeks warmed, growing even hotter when Duck made sure to pull her chair out for her, though awkwardly.

They sat down, and Minerva took in Duck’s flustered state. “Wayne Newton, you do not have to be nervous!”

“Wha -“ Duck looked up with a start, “um, I’m not, no I’m not nerv- it’s just because of um, a bad… day at work, shit, um-“

“It is okay, Duck, I am nervous too.”

He gave Minerva a grateful smile, one she had often seen turned towards his most intimate friends, and it warmed her heart to be on the receiving end once more. They engaged in casual, friendly conversation as Duck relaxed into his seat, and even Minerva felt a few over her muscles unclench. This was nice. It felt normal. 

It felt right.

That was, until Minerva blurted out a question.

“Duck.”

He looked up, pausing his speech on the Baobab Tree.

“My apologies for the interruption, but I am compelled to ask: is this a date?”

“Oh, uh, it doesn’t need to be. I was just - it doesn’t need to be,” Duck said quickly, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried desperately to avoid eye contact.

“A date would be… highly unprofessional,” Minerva admitted, though the words were unpleasant on her tongue.

Duck sighed, tired of denying what he wanted. He’d saved the world, hadn’t he done enough? “Come on, Minnie. I mean, what we gotta be professional for anyways?”

“You… make a good point, Duck Newton.”

She smiled at Duck, and he felt his cheeks burn. Clearing his throat, he cast his eyes around the room until he saw Eugene whom he quickly waved over.

“Hey, Eugene. We’ll have two of the French Onion soups,” he said, face still alight as he handed the unused menus to Eugene.

“I do not know of these foreign vegetable soups,” Minerva admitted as Eugene disappeared. “Are they good?”

Duck grinned. “Trust me, you’re gonna love it.”


End file.
